AN: A lot of thanks to Crossovernaru for his immense help as my beta. He gives the fic the polish it needs, so you should thank him, too :P

Chapter 16: Oracion Countdown

"Master Race: Genesis." No sooner had those words been spoken, Racer unleashed his ultimate spell. In an instant, a quick wave of energy shot past his oblivious opponents, trapping them in his devilish magic without allowing them any chance of resistance.

The world around them appeared unchanged. Birds were flying away, the wind was rustling the trees back and forth, all while Racer casually stepped forward towards Lyon and Sherry. Both seemingly petrified in place like statues. Not even their eyes moved one bit as Racer slowly made his way towards them with neither one showing any signs of trying to stop him. Not even when Racer stood right before Lyon. They didn't even resist when Racer took out his knife. Neither one could spare a glance at what was going to happen. Not that they could do anything to stop it when Racer tried to-

An icy arrow embedded itself into Racer's dominant arm and knocked the knife out of his injured hand. Blood was gushing out of the wound, yet Racer calmly stared at his red stained hand. He grabbed the icicle stuck inside his flesh and pulled it out without flinching. All while turning around to see who was foolish enough to attack him.

Another volley was shot towards him, but Racer expertly dodged them with ease just like he always did.

"Don't waste your energy. You will never hit me again, now that you have my attention." Racer's gaze met Gray's, who came out from the forest rather confidently, but still on edge.

"I think I finally understand your magic. You are not using speed magic at all, are you?!" Gray said out loud, while he readied his next attack. "I thought it was strange how you seemed to disappear and reappear left and right instead of just coming straight at us. I thought your speed magic was a ruse and you just teleported really quick to make it look like you were moving fast. Wouldn't be the first time someone from a dark guild lied about their powers." Grays magic circle flared up, as more and more magic got poured into it. "Still, you wouldn't be able to sustain such a spell after using it so many times, just to keep up the illusion of using speed magic. Either way, whether you can move fast or teleport, you should have been able to avoid my hammer or Lyon's wall easily… but you didn't! So that leaves one other option." A storm of thick ice shards was shot towards Racer at great speed. "You are able to mess with my senses!"

Just as the volley was about to hit Racer, his entire presence disappeared. Having avoided the attack as he stood a few meters to the right. Clapping his hands in a slow and steady rhythm.

"You're quite perceptive. Did you realize this all on your own?"

"I got a friend who specializes in speed magic, so I've picked up a thing or two." Gray shifted his stance, "Now that I know this, all I have to do is hit you. I don't even have to aim."

Racer just smirked. "I hate to say this… but you failed your exam just below a passing grade. Better luck next time."

In an instant, Racer swiftly closes the distance between them, creating a dust cloud that erupts into the air in a fine straight line. Then with his open hand, Racer catapulted his entire arm finger-first towards Gray's throat. The intent was clear, and during all this Gray was only able to think of one thing.

'Was that spe-?'

Fortunately for Gray, a wall of earth suddenly appeared under his feet, lifting him up just in time for Racer to spear a hole clean through the surprisingly sturdy earth structure.

"What?!" Racer was caught off-guard. He tried to pull his hand out only for the sturdy pillar to start liquefying, enveloping his arm in earthly goo that firmly held him in place. He desperately tried to pry it out from this devious trap, but unfortunately this was not the only thing getting in his way as the ground itself rebelled against him. What was once a solid pavement for his feet to rule over, transformed into a sea of thick mud, grabbing, and dragging him under its surface alongside the rocky monument his hand was stuck in. Racer desperately tried to break free, but every movement caused him to get pulled down further into the ground until his head was the only thing that stayed above ground.

"Don't fight it. You have already lost." Two large figures jumped down from the trees above. The bald head and imposing stature of Jura was a welcoming sight for Gray. The one behind him however… not so much.

"Jura… isn't that-"

"HOTEYE! WHATS THE DEAL?!" Racer interrupted Gray, as he screamed at the sight of his guildmate's betrayal. It was obvious that Hoteye's magic was currently holding him down and there was only one thing that could have swayed his heart to the enemy's side. "Why did you change sides? No, rather how much did they promise to pay you? You know that with Nirvana we will get more than they could ever offer you. So why -"

"It's because of Nirvana that I changed sides, Sawyer." Hoteye said calmly as he locked eyes with Racer, instantly silencing him. "Nirvana took away the remnants of my greed. A longing that came only into existence because of my wish to finally find my brother, but as the years went by and the search became more unfruitful, it become corrupted. It is only now that I have realized I need to change my methods if I want to find my brother at all." Hoteye turned towards Jura. "If a guild of the Balam Alliance was not able to locate my brother after all these years, then maybe the Council will be more successful."

"Are you nuts?! You truly think they will just turn a blind eye to your crimes and just help you? The instant you are useless to them, they will lock you up with us. And I promise you Richard, if we meet again in prison, I will end you. I promise you that!"

The ground around Racer started to get tighter around his chest, making him gasp for air.

"The honorable Jura will vouch for me. I trust him, so let that be my concern. More importantly... Could you please release their friends from your spell? I would hate to drown you to force your cooperation… and don't even think about using the same spell against me. My Heavenly Eyes will protect me from it and your death will release them just the same. Give up and at least accept your defeat like a man worthy of your stature."

Racer's face twisted into all sorts of shapes and the slow decline of air was not the only reason why. Seeing this Gray, still a little shaken from his near-death experience, was feeling a little jumpy and was about to unleash a quick spell of his own to stop whatever Racer would do. A cornered mouse could get creative after all, but then Jura's strong hand landed firmly on Gray's shoulder. Breaking his concentration for his spell and after turning around and meeting his confident gaze, Gray quickly calmed down, trusting the judgment of a Wizard Saint.

"FINE." Racer spat out with the remaining air he had, causing the earth to loosen its grip, and allowing him to take a deep breath before speaking again. "I know when I'm beaten. No use wasting my magic, but remember Hoteye… I will never forgive this."

"I won't ask for forgiveness, only you're understanding." With that declaration from Hoteye, Racer could only look at him with contempt, but nevertheless he released his spell and in the next second both Lyon and Sherry fell to their knees, their bodies shaking all while craving for air at practically hyperventilating levels.

Gray had never seen Lyon in such a state, so in a rush he took hold of him and tried to make him focus. "Lyon, calm down! Everything under control. Jura is here and Racer's been dealt with. So, get a hold of yourself."

Hearing this Lyon closed his eyes and released a long icy breath, trying to control his body with breathing exercises that had barely any effect on his still rattling body. Sherry was in a similar state, having trouble calming down even when Jura was right beside her. It was certainly a bone-rattling sight and Gray had no idea what they could have experienced that turned even the headstrong Lyon into a shivering maiden.

"What did he do to them?" Gray turned towards Hoteye for an answer, tormented by his former fellow student's state.

"It's Racer's ultimate spell. He simply increased your friend's reaction speed to such a high level, their bodies could not keep up. Paralyzing them by forcing their minds to process more information of the world around them than they could ever possibly handle." Hoteye turned his gaze from Lyon towards Sherry. "They're rather lucky that we intervened this quickly. Any longer and they might have needed at least a full day to recover."

"Lucky them." Said Gray, noticing how Lyon's pulse started to reach normal levels. "Feeling better?"

Lyon let out a deep chuckle. "Just felt the cold embrace of death coming for me… No biggy… just… like when we trained with Ur, right Gray?"

Gray rolled his eyes and offered Lyon his hand. "Sure. "

With Lyon already on his feet it didn't take long for Sherry to come to her senses, too. A chunk of Lyon's ice on her forehead helped tremendously to speed up her recovery and when she started to finally stand up on her own, she made a rather intriguing off-hand comment.

"When did we turn off Nirvana?"

It took a moment for those present to let the words sink in, before everyone looked up and searched for the eye-catching pillar of light that was missing from the blue sky.

"It seems someone else has achieved our mission. Let me contact Mr. Hibiki for confirmation." Jura put two fingers to his forehead. For several moments, he stayed in this position only to frown at the end. Making his allies uneasy. "It's no good, I can't contact him. Something must have happened."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gray spoke up rather urgently. "Let's head back."

"Wait, Gray. "Lyon stopped him for a moment and looked to the side. "Do you smell something… burning?"

No sooner did Lyon say it, did they feel the temperature drastically increasing before a wall of intense white flames tore through the trees right towards them. Swallowing everything in their path.

In the nick of time, Jura managed to erect a wall of stone big enough to shield everyone, as the stream of flames came crashing into it like a stampede of Vulcans. The flames were a lot more dangerous than he expected, sweating immensely due to the flames that passed by his sides. The corners of the wall were already crumbling, while the brownish earthy color itself has already changed into a more orange-like one, courtesy of the heat continuously beating into it. Threatening to melt it right off. The only reason it did not was thanks to Gray and Lyon's equally quick reaction and using their magic to cool it down enough to hold its form thus, allowing Jura to focus on maintaining and strengthening the wall.

Jura felt fortunate that everyone was standing so close together or else he wouldn't have been able to protect them. Even Racer was in a good spot buried in the ground. Though he was still looking at them in contempt, just praying for the wave of fire to swallow them whole, and by the looks of it, himself included.

Despite being a dangerous criminal, it would have left a foul taste in Jura's mouth if he couldn't prevent any harm from being inflicted upon any helpless person, especially one that had already surrendered. However, the danger was not yet over for him to allow himself to relax even for a second. The force of those flames was enough to put cracks in the lower part of his wall. Threatening to break off and expose them to the flames if something was not done soon.

"Stone Doll!" calling forth a stone golem, Sherry managed to push aside the momentary shock from before and ordered her creation to push against the wall with all it's might. Despite the golems' immense support, the flames did not yield one bit even as everyone diverted their focus to keep the fire at bay. Everyone but one.

"He's back... He's back... Zero's back. I'm dead… traitors always end up… dead..."

Behind everyone, Hoteye was crouching down, holding his head between his massive hands. He was barely audible over the roaring flames, but eventually Jura picked up on it.

"RICHARD!" Jura screamed probably louder than necessary, but enough to divert Hoteye's attention towards him. "Pull yourself together! Think of your brother! Are you seriously going to sit there and let fear dictate your life? If you don't act now, all your effort will be forever in vain! So. Get. Up!"

Those words bore into Hoteye's soul as he shakily stood up, lifting the dark veil clouding his mind for now, before he joined the wizards resistance using his own magic. An orange glow emitted from the wall, as Hoteye gave it the flexibility it needed in key areas to withstand a greater deal of power. All the while holding up the already melted parts of the wall in place, which in turn allowed Jura to focus more on reinforcing his spell.

"I'm glad you came back to your senses Richard." Jura said as he already felt grateful for the lessened burden.

A sliver of the white flames flickered a little too close for Hoteye's liking. Making him flinch for just a moment before he steeled his resolve and remained in position.

"Don't get me wrong Jura. I'm still pretty much afraid of... Zero." Just saying his name made him gulp, "… but losing the one thing I have dedicated the rest of my life to get back… I don't think any amount of riches will be enough to allow me to try again if I fail today."

Occasionally, the fiery display of power tried to overpower the wizards on numerous occasions, but together their synergy meshed well together for them to come out victorious, even against the onslaught of fire given straight from the hands of God towards mortal men.

The sound of clashing fists could be heard across the forest, as a dance of purple mist and orange flames got thrown around towards everything that dared to get between the battle of Dragon Slayers.

Dodging under the poison coated kick, Natsu jumped headfirst and headbutted Cobra square in the jaw, just as the latter tried to use the earlier momentum to deliver a second kick towards the Salamander's side. The force of the headbutt was enough to lift Cobra's whole body a couple feet from the ground. Cobra's head rattled from the force alone, but through the pain his gut told him to punch down and despite his dazed state, he trusted his primal instincts above all else.

Without hesitation, he threw a punch encased with purple energy down towards a fiery upper cut that was meant for his face and after clashing together it created a massive explosion that launched both combatants a considerable distance away from each other. Crashing down and sliding further into the green forest on opposite sides from each other. Separating them for the time being.

Cobra tried to stand up, but pain prevented him from doing it in a smooth manner. The burned holes from Natsu's surprise shotgun-like spell did a number on him and Cobra was getting agitated just thinking about it. How could he, a member of the powerful Oracion Seis, whose members strength alone is enough to rival that of higher ranked guilds, was getting his ass handed to him by some lowly mage who had not yet even reached the rank of S-class? It wasn't even the fact that he got hit that agitated him. It was the fact that Natsu, being obviously inferior to him, had power that was almost equal to his own.

Cobra refused to lose in a contest of power and rushed towards his enemy, who of course had the same thing in mind. Abandoning defense, each of them hit the other with a volley of magic enhanced fists until their fingers locked and it devolved into a contest of physical strength. Digging their heels into the ground, while their foreheads crashed against each other's with neither one gaining any ground. Instead, they continued to stubbornly put even more strength into it, as the standstill continued. Infuriating Cobra even further.

Cobra could have easily used his 'hearing' to make this fight fall into his favor, but he chose not to. He's not some one-trick-pony that needs to rely on a single method to win his fights. He can do just fine using his actual skill against a mere first-generation Dragon Slayer.

During their power-struggle, Natsu suddenly stopped pushing back and allowed Cobra to fall towards him, delivering a mighty kick towards his stomach and launching Cobra into the middle of the destroyed clearing that was the result of their destructive battle.

Blood was trickling down Natsu's right cheek, just as it started to burn. Apparently, Cobra managed to sneak in a poisoned slash before his forced departure. This being another reason for Natsu to end this fight as quickly as possible.

Still on the ground, Cobra did not see Natsu rushing towards him with both hands held over his head and covered in massive flames ready to down his opponent.

'Fire Dragon's Brilliant Fla-" Only for him to be swatted away by the tail of Cubellios, the massive snake now circling around Cobra's slowly rising form.

"I told you I can handle him –!" Cobra tried to complain, but one look from his friend was enough to make him realize the amount of hurt he forced her to endure.

"Natsu!" Seeing the snake disrupt the one-on-one fight, Happy descended next to Natsu, who picked himself up from the sneak attack.

"I'm fine." Spitting blood to his side Natsu's eyes met Cobra's. Both feeling the need to pummel the other into the ground. However, before the battle could properly continue, their noses suddenly picked up an intrusive scent while their skin also started to feel awfully dry.

Natsu seemed to recognize it. "I don't like this. Happy fly me up!" No sooner did the Dragon Slayer take to the air; a torrent of white fire came from behind and almost enveloped them during their ascension.

Cobra's reaction was equally as quick, but one look at his companions' wings was enough to halt his retreat. Bullet sized holes were littered across it and Cobra didn't need to be a genius to know it was impossible to take flight with Cubellios in her condition.

For a second, Cobra pondered if he would be fast enough to escape this massive wall of white by running off to the side. Despite the size of this attack, it was relatively thin enough to sprint out of the way in time, if he ran now.

He could save his life, but only his and that was a condition he won't even take into consideration. Part of his body started to display even more scales, covering most of his body and climbing up to his neck similar in density to those on his reptile-like claw-hands. Standing before Cubellios and facing the white heat, Cobra took the deepest breath he had ever taken. Filling his lungs with every speck of magic he could take hold off into his body, and just as the flames were about to engulf him he released a battle cry so strong, it threatened to rupture his ear drums.

"POISON DRAGON'S ROAR!" The purple tornado of corrosive poison bore violently into the white mass of death and managed to halt part of the approaching wave in its tracks. The rest continued to rush by on either side of them. Effectively trapping the duo with no means of escape.

The flames were slowly being pushed back or split to the sides, but unfortunately it didn't seem to end. Despite Cobra's best efforts, he knew that he couldn't keep this taxing move up for much longer. Even Dragon Slayers needed to breathe once in a while.

The wall of white started to break through, just as the whirlwind of poison started to lose its initial power. It wasn't long before Cobra's breath cut short. The flames didn't need to be told twice to fill up the untouched space before them, no matter how much Cobra silently pleaded for them to let them be.

With the flames quickly closing in towards them, Cobra spared one last glance to his only friend. Then he faced the inevitable and spread his arms to the sides as far as he could. Trying his best to shield his friend with his body as best as he could.

'I'm sorry I was not strong enough.' With his fate sealed Cobra faced the bright light encompassing him to the point of blindness. Suddenly, just before the flames could swallow him, a black speck fell from the sky towards him. This was soon accompanied by the sound of slurping breaking through the flames rumbling choir.

Like a magnet, the flames were pulled into the shadow at a singular point and when the bright light of the flames finally dissipated Cobra could finally see who was stupid enough to help him in his moment of need… and he wasn't disappointed.

Cobra wasn't sure what his enemy thought by putting his life on the line for him, but he needed to resist the temptation to drive his fist through the Salamander's back. Heroically standing before him, even if that was a sickening thought. Ignoring his disgust, he wasn't going to stop this idiot as long as the fire was safely sealed away in his belly. On the off chance he fails, Cobra was prepared to roar again, no matter the casualty standing before him.

Natsu meanwhile was trying his best to gulp down the endless stream of fire. His stomach growing larger and larger at a frightening rate. Natsu has eaten many different flames in his life, but none were as filling and 'fresh' as this one. However, it soon became obvious that his stomach was nearing its limit. His skin started to crack from the overflow of magic, transforming into scales, before breaking off completely as white light was shining through.

The power was too much to handle and unlike the overdose of power he got back at the Tower of Heaven, this time the magic threatened to burst out from his body if he continued to feast with this much bravado, not that he could stop it now.

After seeing Cobra willing to give up his own life for his pet… no not his pet. His friend. Natsu out of impulse felt the desire to help him out, even in the face of the carnage before him. Plus, being a fire Dragon Slayer that's afraid of his own element was something that just trampled on his pride and his father would surely be disappointed if he were ever to learn about this act of cowardice.

Whether his current act of altruism would backfire or not was yet be seen, it was more than obvious that his stomach was nearing its limit, and the flames were still flowing strong. Natsu had to come up with an idea fast and there was only one thing that came to mind. One ace in the hole he prayed wouldn't backfire like it usually did.

Focusing on the lacrimas in his body, he tried to redirect the flames into them or at least activate the stones to suck out as much magic as they could. He reached out, like a ghost traveling through his maze-like body and looked for them. And when he did, he gently pushed against the first one.

The magical stone reacted violently, as it began to steal Natsu's hard earned meal from his throat right into itself. It was like a hurricane was unleashed inside his mouth, where the stone stronghanded the fire at a greater pace then he usually was eating them. At least his body had some down time to digest the flames he himself had eaten.

The relief was short lived sadly, as the lacrima suddenly shut down, causing Natsu's stomach to start filling up again, with the pain threatening to return.

Panic filled his mind and acting once again on impulse, Natsu reached into his body, and as he did before activated another lacrima to do the job for him... and then he activated another… and another. Another. Another. And another, before he reached for the last of them and let them in unison extinguish the flames.

One after another the lacrimas were filled to the brim with magic, until the last on remained, before finally the last flicker of the fiery carnage got sealed away…. But the last stone's satiation was not yet reached.

Natsu fell to his knees, clutching his chest as he tried to control what happened inside his body. The stone ripping right into his magic reserves like the little parasite it was.

Meanwhile, Cobra, while grateful for his rescue, stood behind Natsu with his scaly claw dripping with poisonous magic.

"Leave him alone!" Happy came to the rescue, only for him to be swatted to the ground and held in place by Cubellios.

Cobra looked her in the eye, asking his friend if he should really do it, but Cubellios let him know that whatever he decided to do, she will stand behind his decision.

'You were a worthy opponent. But you're still an enemy of my guild.' With a clear mind and not a shred of malice, Cobra's sharp claws were about to decapitate the defenseless Dragon Slayer, when suddenly a white light pushed everyone away. Forcing Cobra to dig his fingers into the ground to stop the pushback, while Happy caught himself midair using his wings, looking in awe at the shiny new state of his best friend.

A sword with a green tinted edge came dangerously close towards Zero, as he clumsily deflected it with his still functioning black armored arm, before he was forced to jump back from the other blade cutting off the ends of his white hair.

The black armament disappeared momentarily, revealing a deeper, but still manageable cut before it came back just in time to block the next series of slashes. However, they were still tough to deal with, especially when you had just one arm at your disposal. Zero needed to create some space between them.

"Crimson Flick." With a simple finger movement, a drop of blood was sent crashing into his opponent and managed to push her deeper into the forest away from him. Enough time for Zero to magically enforce his currently useless arm by wrapping it in a thick greenish runic cast, akin to plate armor.

Despite being created in haste, it seemed sturdy enough to withstand the occasional attack. Before he could check to see if it was working properly, a flurry of sword strikes came crashing down from above. Forcing him to raise his magically armored hand in time, the sharp swords harmlessly bouncing off and burying themselves deep into the ground. The culprit of this sneak attack was easy to guess.

Sparing a glance at Titania, now dressed in a purple garment that was more cloth than armor, Zero growled under his breath. The growl was not directed at her but at his own pawn kneeling on the ground behind her, holding his stomach and wasting a perfect opportunity to stab her in the back. But no, instead his failure was in too much shock to even think of this and decided to grovel because someone else other than his father managed to hit him.

Zero was at a disadvantage if Midnight was this easily countered by her. Time was running out, too. He could sense the council closing in on them. He had at most 10 minutes to end this all. With so little options and time, Zero had no choice but to bail from this unfavorable predicament. It was important to cut his losses, lest he suffer the consequences. To do that he flared his magic and prepared to unleash a certain spell.

Erza tried to intervene, but Midnight came back to his senses. His fear of his father trumping the reality check he got, as he lunged at her rather amateurishly. He was clearly not used to hand to hand combat, but it was enough to buy Zero some time.

A green blur came rushing towards him and in one masterfully executed swing she cut his body perfectly in half… just what he was counting on. While his upper fake half made of magic fell to the ground, his original body sprang out of the lower half akin to a jumping jack toy box. He then clapped his hands together before reaching towards the ground under her feet.

However, another more slender pair of hands held his in place. That beastly strength of hers stubbornly prevented him from reaching the dirt. Looking up he could see her smirking, despite one of her swords being in her mouth for some reason, as she gazed at him like a predator would at prey caught at the mercy of their fangs.

Midnight, seeing his father in peril tried to help, but with his guard down Erza easily knocked him down to the ground. Her foot on top of his back and her glaive right next to his neck.

Zero pushed with all his remaining strength, but the iron grip on his hands did not relent one bit. Instead, the pressure of her grip started to slowly increase, as if telling him to give up already.

He had underestimated her inhuman speed, as she could've easily stabbed him right now and kill him. Instead, however, she put one blade firmly in her mouth, while the other was sheathed safely in the scabbard beside her waist. All this needless effort just to grab his hands… Was she showing him mercy? Was this her way of telling him to turn himself in and allow himself to be captured?

Zero felt agitated at this mockery, before he smirked slightly. The monster before him appeared human once more, and a weakness as convenient as mercy was exactly what he needed. It didn't escape him that she hid her face when Erza arrived.

As he took in a quick breath to fill his lungs, it seemed she caught on to his intent and was about to grab the front of her makeshift hood, but the wind spell blew straight into it and into her face. Her cover flying backwards and crashing right into her back. Smothered like a pancake.

In a panic she tried to instinctively reach for it with one hand, allowing the green plated hand of Zero to hit the ground, but either way it was too late. Her face was visible for all to see, and silence filled the air for what felt like minutes.

"You are…!" A look of recognition adorned Erza's face as the truth about her ally was finally revealed, yet her hold over her enemy never wavered despite it. Erza's composure was unyielding despite the turmoil and questions raging inside her right now.

Her green haired copy let out a sigh, before taking out the blade from her mouth, as she slowly turned towards her. With a neutral, but still uneasy look she faced Erza and when their eyes met, Erza was not sure what to think.

"Hey." Her copy awkwardly greeted her, and a chill ran down her spine. Hearing your own voice sound so foreign was not something that sat comfortably with Erza to the point she unknowingly gripped her weapon harder.

Before her doppelganger could say anything more, a green magic circle appeared under her from Zero's grounded and no longer green hand. Shining brightly, it engulfed her whole body in an instant and when it died down, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Dark Capriccio".

In shock or rather distracted by what just happened, Erza didn't notice in time the spiraling spell flying towards her. Narrowly surviving it when she used her sturdy weapons shaft to take the hit. The spell was powerful enough that she got pushed back from Midnight and was sent sliding back, while her glaive was broken in two. Each part held firmly in her hand before using her Requip to store them in her magic space for future repairs.

Erza was at a disadvantage and even against a wounded Guild Master like Zero, she could not win. At least so long as Midnight was not dealt with. Any other armor would quickly be turned against her thanks to his magic. However, just as Midnight tried to rush towards her and take advantage of the current situation, Zero stopped him.

"We have to go."

"Why? We can take her!"

"Every one of our forces has been dealt with and the Magic Council is closing in. Also, I doubt Angel will keep that beast I sent in check for long. Let's go." Midnight let out a dissatisfying growl, but he would never dare refuse his father's order. As they were about to run away, Erza came rushing towards them with a pair of newly summoned swords.

Hearing that help was on the way, she prayed for time and tried to keep them here a little while longer. Oracion Seis will fall today her face seemed to say, and even if Midnight keeps destroying all of her 100 armors. Sooner or later, someone will come to aid her until the might of the Magic council arrives to bring them down for sure.

Zero readied his signature spell again. However, something seemed odd. As his spell came rushing towards her it missed her by a huge margin and traveled straight towards… Jellal?!

Her old childhood friend was still restrained. Laying helplessly on the ground unable to defend himself in any way from the incoming attack…. But there was no reason for Erza to act. Why should she? Jellal is an irredeemable monster that has deceived her one time too many and should pay for his crimes accordingly. Instead of falling for this pathetic trap she should focus her strength on keeping the enemies in front of her from escaping.

Why should she requip her Flight Armor and rush to his aid, then block Zero's deadly attack with her Adamantine Armor's shield and keep him from harm's way while he's in this defenseless, compromising and frankly pathetic position fit for a rat like him?

Why should she risk it all!?

…Or rather why did she do it?

Clad in her Flight Armor she held a massive, spiked shield with a nasty dent on it. Standing before Jellal who was equally as shocked as she was. How could her body betray her like this?

Why was she doing it? Had she learnt nothing? Why?... She did not know.

"Don't come after us Titania." Zero shot the same spell towards Erza, blocked again with her massive shield and leaving another larger dent, before he turned around.

How Erza wished her body would allow her to ditch Jellal and stop them, but she couldn't move a muscle. All she could do was clench her teeth in frustration at her weakness. She hoped it was already dealt with back at the Tower, but that was just a lie she told herself and now she was forced to let those criminals escape. All because of her conflicted feelings.

However, Zero and Midnight only took a couple steps before the earth behind them started to shake. After it an intense heatwave hit them in the back that Zero recognized in a heartbeat.

"It can't be." He seemed to say, but Erza ignored him as she was taken aback by the new arrival's features.

The ground beneath his bare feet was melting. His back, fully exposed, displayed a mesmerizing pattern of reptilian-like scales that extended from his forearms and trailed down his legs. How much it covered remained uncertain, as his still intact knee-high pants were engulfed in flames, concealing it. However, glimpses of the scales emerged from the sides, peeking out just above his calves. His white scarf defiantly withstood the heat, contrasting against his hair as pure and white as snow, dancing and mirroring the flickering movements of fire.

"So. Which of you wants to taste my fist first?" The voice of Natsu boomed, brimming with cockiness, but to Erza, it also had a sense of power that could back it up.

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|

So, here's the promised chapter... What do you mean I'm 11 months late? Ah, it truly has been a long time, reader. I hope you can forgive me and please put the knife down. I feel a tinge of guilt for bringing out a chapter after such a long hiatus, only to have Zoro bearably present in it before 'getting rid of him' almost immediately. I planned to have this longer but dividing it into two seemed more appropriate. I have right now more time so I hope I will make up for lost time. Till then I hope you enjoyed this.

/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|\/|